All the wonderful little puppies I wrote about in the May newsletter had to come back to the shelter for a little while. My friend who was keeping them fell from a roof and broke both his ankles. Obviously, he couldn't care for them. Hopefully he will recover quickly. In the meantime, the puppies will be in their new homes in a couple of weeks.

I tend to forget how these little balls of fur become very demanding little mouths to feed. Since starting them on soft food and dry, you would think I was feeding a herd of elephants. And just try to walk through them!! They bite shoe laces and pants hems and hang on for dear life. They are just so cute making their attacks sound like they are going to eat me up. They DEMAND attention. And, they get it!!

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REMINDER—Food is ALWAYS our most pressing need. The cats and dogs need your special help each and every month. PLEASE help us by:
(1) ordering food to be sent to the shelter—the most efficient way is to order through the Wal-Mart in Guntersville to be sent to us at 138 Ham Road, Albertville AL 35951,

(2) sending support on-line using PayPal,

(3) sending Wal-Mart or PetSmart gift cards or

(4) sending a check to the Post Office address stating it is to be used for food.

Thank you for whatever you can do to prevent our animals from going hungry.

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STAMP REPORT—

Since our last report, we received 120 stamps from Lois Holbrook and Jamie Reagin . We have about 25 on hand right now so please send as many as you can.

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THANK YOU—

Packages shipped to the shelter do not all arrive at the same time even when they are from one person, and sometimes there is no indication of the sender’s name. So, please forgive me if I don't list each separate item. If your name should have been included on this listing and was not, please let us know so we can correct the omission. Please be assured that we greatly appreciate every bit of support we receive.

To Vicky Murphy once again for your monthly on-line support. We appreciate being able to count on your support each and every month.

To Jamie Reagin for sending both food and stamps in addition to your monthly financial support.

To Mildred Ferrell for your consistent help each month.

To Sandy Briggs for the very much needed bedding you sent.

To Walter Gordy for your very much appreciated generous financial support.

To Kathy Beckman for the very much needed and appreciated Lowes gift card plus extra financial help.

To Mary Jane Johnson for continuing to help us—with your very generous on line support each and every month to help both me personally and the shelter.

To Julie Ashton for your continued great generosity.

To E. Lemming for your very generous financial help in May.

To Joanne Croghan for your steady support of the shelter.

To Gloria Young for your reliable financial support.

To Gloria Overbey for your monthly support to help with vet care.

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ANIMAL WELFARE – By Susan Bird, May 23, 2016

Petitions and pleas have helped achieve freedom for animals. Johns Hopkins University decided it will no longer use live animals to train medical students. “Given that almost all medical schools have stopped using live animals in medical student education and that the experience is not essential, the School of Medicine has decided that the use of live animals in the surgical clerkship should stop,” Johns Hopkins officials told students on May 18. Use of live animals will stop in June 2016.

This is welcome news indeed. Johns Hopkins reviewed the state of medical training and decided using live animals is simply not required anymore. True, this decision comes in part due to pressure from animal activists. Remember, though, that Johns Hopkins is a top flight medical school. Rest assured that this institution would never stop a practice it truly believed was critical to training excellent physicians unless that practice could safely be dropped.

Johns Hopkins’ decision means there’s now only a single medical school holdout. Only one of almost 200 schools in all of the United States and Canada continues to use live animals for medical training. It’s the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Chattanooga. Why? When every top level medical school from Harvard to Johns Hopkins says using animals is simply not required, why does one school continue this unnecessary, ethically questionable and antiquated practice?

All Cats Inc. (EIN: 58-1733079) has been issued a donation from the AmazonSmile Foundation. Once per year, the AmazonSmile Foundation issues donations to all registered organizations that have earned donations, even if the donation amount is below the $5 minimum.

The shelter’s donation potential may be increased by spreading the word about AmazonSmile.

Many items we use to care for the safety and comfort of our animals are available at either Home Depot or Lowes. Gift cards from either place are much appreciated.

Gift cards for any other store at which we can buy items needed at the shelter, such as bleach, detergent, tall kitchen bags, paper plates, Pine-Sol, brooms, scrub buckets, dishwashing liquid, dry cat and dog food, cat and dog treats, and paper towels. Walmart, Kroger, PETCO, Home Depot, Lowes and PetSmart cards are especially welcome.

Purchase of gasoline is a major expense. Gift cards would help a lot. Nearby stations include Chevron, Amoco, Conoco, BP, Shell and Texaco.

Any type of animal medicine.

A special gift designated to help with our veterinary bills.

Our utility bills vary from month to month but your help with paying them is always very much appreciated.

STILL NEEDED: Electric floor cleaner. I understand Swiffer makes a very good one.

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IN THE NEWS
Pedro Dinis was walking his dog in the Paris suburbs when he stumbled upon a situation that he simply couldn’t make sense of. It looked as though some form of avalanche had swept down, claiming a single dog as its victim.
“I was walking my dog Déesse [French for Goddess] and we were about to go home when I decided, seeing how much Déesse enjoyed her freedom, to go on a little further,” Dinis wrote on Facebook. “It gave us the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time to save the life of a dog who had been cruelly buried alive. Only her head was barely visible given the amount of dirt that was covering it.”
Dinis immediately began the task of digging out the very weak dog, later identified as Athena. He used his hands to gently excavate her torso and then one leg at a time. As he worked, he noted that Athena appeared to have been tied to the spot with a long, thick stretch of rope. While Pedro worked, his dog Déesse tried to comfort Athena.
“I have always thought that there is no such thing as coincidence,” Pedro said. “A series of reasons made me be at the right place in the right time… I praise the providence and alchemy that leads us to accomplish great things.”
Athena’s origins were tracked through a tattoo on her body which led police investigators to her house. Her guardian claimed that Athena had run away, but police are skeptical and charges have been filed.
Animal advocate Virginie Nollot posted a special photo of Athena and this update. “Athena is doing much better now. She’s in the good hands of a French pets association. The scumbag who did this to her has been caught.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/recovery-for-10-year-old-dog-buried-alive-outside-